Culex (Culex) annulirostris Skuse, 1889
New Zealand Status: Not Present
Intercepted in New Zealand, Culex annulirostris is a major summer pest of inland riverine areas of southeastern Australia readily feeding on humans, other mammals and birds (Russell 1993).
Vector and Disease Information
In Australia Culex annulirostris is an efficient vector of a range of arboviruses in the laboratory, and has been incriminated in field studies as a vector of Murray Valley encephalitis, Kunjin, Barmah Forest and Ross River virus (Russell 1993). It is able to carry dog heartworm and is probably a major vector of myxomatosis (Russell 1993). Culex annulirostris as the major vector of Japanese encephalitis virus in northern Australia (Hurk et al 2003). In some areas of West Papua (Indonesia) it is an important vector of periodic filariasis (Belkin 1962).
Distribution (based on Biogeographic Regions)
Australasian Biogeographic Region
New Zealand
Not present, intercepted. Intercepted 1929 (Laird 1995); at Napier in 1999 (NZ Ministry of Health).
Australia
Present, endemic
New South Wales (widespread coastal and inland), Victoria (widespread but not common south of the Central Highlands), South Australia (widespread, particularly Murray valley), Tasmania (east coast but only one record), Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia (Russell 1993).
Rest of the Region
Austral Islands (Tubuai), Banks Islands, Fiji, Iles Wallis, Indonesia (West Papua), Nauru, New Caledonia (including Loyalty Islands), Papua New Guinea (Bismarck Archipelago), Philippines, Rapa Island, Rotuma Island, Samoa, Society Islands, Solomon Islands (including Santa Cruz Islands), Tonga, Tuamotu Archipelago, Vanuatu (Belkin 1962).
Present, introduced
Kiribati, Tuvalu, Southern Cook Islands (Belkin 1962).
Taxonomic Position
This species is placed in Group sitiens, and subgroup sitiens of the subgenus Culex.
Diagnosis
A diagnosis is the minimum set of characters and states that will separate this taxon from all others in this set of taxa.
| Diagnostic characters | State |
| Pulvilli | Present |
| All erect scales on the vertex white | No |
| Pale scales of proboscis | Forming a band around proboscis |
Characteristic Features
FEMALES - Medium-sized mosquito, brownish to dark appearance with banded legs. Head: proboscis dark scaled with a pale band in middle third, palps dark. Thorax: scutum with dark bronze and some golden narrow scales, and a few pale scales anterio-laterally and posterio-medially, postpronotum and antepronotum with numerous narrow scales brown to beige in colour. Wings: wings all dark scaled. Legs: hind legs femur mottled with pale scales and scatterd pale scales on tibia, tarsi 1-4 with pale basal bands, 5 all dark. Abdomen: tergites dark scaled with basal pale bands typically extended medially, sternites with pale scaling from base typically interupting an apical dark band (Belkin 1962, Russell 1993).